Machine for cutting off bricks and tiles



2 SheetbsSheet 1 .Y J. SMITH Machine.fd'r Cutting offBridks and Tiles.

.No. 224,616. Patehted Feb. 17, 18180.

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2 Sheets-Sheet 2 J. s. SMITH; 1 Machine for Cutting offBficks and Tiles.

No. 224,616. Paterited Feb. fl7, 11880.

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trailaren't t niest JOHN S. SMITH, OF JACKSON, MICHIGAN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 224,616, dated February 17, 1880.

Application filed July 29, 1879.

Toall whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, JOHN S. SMITH, of Jackson, in the county of Jackson and State of Michigan, haveinvented certain new and useful lmprovementszin MaehinesfonGutting Off Bricks and tliiles; and I-dohereby declare that the following is.a.full, clear,and exact description of the invention, which willenableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains .to make and use the same,mefere1icebeing,had to:the accompanying drawings, and to letters of reference marked thereon whiclnform part of 'this specification.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of;my-improved machine-tor entting ofi' bricks oritiles. Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section. Fig- 3;

is a side elevation of-the-frame and;the carry-i i'ng-wheels.

A and A represent the side sills of .themain; frame of the machine, and A A end girts. A A are cross-pieces attached to the lower side A A are beams arranged end to end on adine substantially parallel to .the side sills, and having bet-ween'themopen as shown at a a, for aipnrposeto be -The frame is mounted upon the B B, and the rear wheels, B

spaces, explained. forward wheels,

B. Thefrontwheels, BB, are1mounted upon an axle, G, which is supported inbrackets or hangers D,-one at each end, and-pivoted to the sillsA A, as shown at d. i

-E represents a U-shaped yoke or stirrup,:the free ends of which carry studs 6, upon which are mounted the rear.wheels,;B B,of the ma- F F are hangers pivoted -tothe sills AA and to the studs 6 e. Gis a shaft provided with a right-hand thread at one end and a lefthand thread at the other. this arranged to engage at one end withthe .axle O,-which, at the center, is v providedwith a-screw-threaded aperture to receive it. At the-other end the threaded shaft engages-with the centralpart of thezU-shaped stirrupE; and itwill be seen that if the shaft-Gr be rotatedin one direction the axle Oand stirrup-E will be drawn together,which will result in elevating the frame, and if the shaft berotatedin the opposite direct-ion the axle an d stirrup will be forced apart and the frame be lowered. :By this means I provide a ready adjustment of, the position of the machine.

The shaft G isprevented from moving endwise by a slotted bracket, H, depending from the-.frame, the jaws of whichfit into a recess in the shaft, as shown at h.

Thewheels B B are provided with grooves I) onflanges to holdthein securely in place upon a'track or way.

I Lrepresent the rollers wliiclrreceive and .convey=the clay from the machine that pre pares it. Theserollers are moun ted upon shafts I I, supportedon. the sills A and the beams As-thestream of. clay moves along upon the rollers 1 it is cut at proper intervals to form ;the bricks or tiles .by means of thefollowing devices:

K K K are circular" rims or hands, of iron :or steel orothersa'rtaiole material. They-are carrythe Wires or cutting devices. Said wires are represented by L L, two of which are attached to each rim or wheel K, at right angles to each other and intersecting at the center. .15 is an eyebolt inserted into the rim K from- .the inside, and to it one end of the cuttingwire L is attached. The other end of the wire is secured by ,a screw, 6, arranged to clamp it against a spring, 0 This spring is rigid enough to hold the wire perfectly taut under any. ordinary circumstances, but is at the same time sufficiently flexible to permit the wire to yield should it. come in contact with a stone or other. obstruction.

lhe wheels or rims K K are mounted in planes perpendicular to the path of the clay by means of devices substantially such as those shown.

M M M are standards secured to the upper side of the sill A. M M M are similar standards secured to thetop of the sill A; and M M M arehangers or brackets extending down ward from the cross pieces A A to which they are attached. Each of these standards and hangers M, M, and M carries a roller, m, provided with a groove, m, adapted to receive and engage with a rib, It, upon the outer sun face of each of the wheels or rims K.

By examining the drawings it will be seen that each wheel is thus provided with three supportingrollers, there being one roller below the center (substantially) of each wheel,

, the full length of the diameter of the cutter-' carrier, they needing no support at the center of said carrier. Making the cutter thus extend from one side of the carrier to the other avoids the necessity of more than one spring on the line of any diameter. Should the wires be attached at the center of the carrier, or be tween the-center and the rim to any fixed part of the carrier, two springs would be required on the line of each diameter.

The rims K are simultaneously rotated by means of a cross-bar, N, which is held in place upon the outer edge of the rimsby means of heads 0 0, having lugs or'studs 0 0, adapted to pass under. the rim and'thus clamp the bar N. This bar is in a line substantially perpendicular to the planes of the rims K, and is arranged to reciprocate laterally over about one-fourth of their circumference.

P I are dogs pivoted to the bar N or to lugs n a, secured to the bar, there beinga dog directly above the rib 70 on each rim K.

7c 7c are notches formed in each rib 70, adapted to engage with the dogs J? I? when the bar is moving forward, but permit thebar to pass freely in the opposite direction, and thus, as

will be readily seen, a portion of a revolution is imparted to the rims K K at every reciprocation of the bar N. i Q Q represent spring-pawls pivoted to the rear standards, M M, adapted to engage with the teeth or notches 7c and prevent any backward movement of the rims while the bar N is being moved back toward said standard.

The bar N has a handle, preferably similar to that shown at R.

From the foregoing description and the drawings the operation ofmy machine will be readily understood.

Supposing the rims K to be in the position shown in Fig. 2 and the bar N at the rearward limit of its throw, the wires L being vertical and the wires L being substantially horizontal, and that the clay is being fed in a continuous stream, the operator at the proper time draws the bar N, and with it the rims K K, forward into the position shown in Fig.1, by which time the wires L have passed through the stream of clay and have become vertical, the wires L at the same time having become horizontal and ready for the next cut.

In order to insure that the wires shall cuta perfectly straight edge, the machine is moved forward on its track with a speed suflicient to let the clay rest upon the rollers while the wires are passing through it.

The carrying-wheels are constructed to' run with but little friction, so that as the stream of clay is passing under the cutting-wires its fricreadily done, inasmuch as the rotation of the carriers is entirely-wider the control of the operator, regardless of the mechanism which feeds the'clay. The rotation of the carriers is therefore intermittent, and in order to insure a uniform length of bricks or tiles it is necessary to have two or more simultaneously-rotating cariiers situated at a distance apart equal to the desired length of brick.

What I claim is-'- l. In a machine for cutting 0E bricks, the

combination of areciprocating bed-frame, two or more rotating cutter-carriers mounted upon said reciprocating cutter-frame, and mechanism which simultaneously rotates said cuttercarriers, whereby several bricks can be formed at one operation, substantially asset forth. 2. The combination, with v a continuously rotating cutter-carrier mounted upon eccentric supports, of a flexible cutter extending continuously from one side of said carrier to the other through the center, substantially as set forth.

3. In a machinefor cutting of bricks or tiles, a cutter-carrier which rotates in one direction only, with a motion intermittent relatively to the feeding of the clay, substantially as set forth. 1 I

4. The combination, with a flexible cutter extending continuously across the carrier, of

the spring c,which permits the cutter to yield upon both sides of the center, substantially as set forth.

5. The combination of the bed-frame, the

' rotating cutter-carrier K, supported only at its perimeter, and the standards M M M mounted separately from each other on said bed-frame and arranged to bear against the outside of said cutter-carriers, substantially as set forth. 6. The combination of the cutter-carrier K, the rod N, and the pawl P, pivoted to said rod, substantially as set forth. I

.7. The combination of the cutter-carriers K Kand the reciprocating rod N, providedwith the heads 0 O and .studs 0 0, adapted toena gage with the under side of the cutter-carriers,

substantially as set forth. I

8. The combination, with the cutter-carrie K, provided with the flange k, which has the notches la la, whereby the rotating mechanism engages with the carrier, of the grooved pulleys m m, mounted outside the carrier and arranged to engage with said notched flange k, substantially as set forth.

9. In a machine for cutting off bricks or tiles, in combination with a continuously-rotating 'aangene v a cutter-carrier, a stop arranged substantially as ed to engage with the carrier while moving in one direction and to be disengaged while moving in the other direction, substantially as set forth.

11. In a machine for outtingoff bricks or tiles, in combination with the axle G and the yoke E, mechanism, substantially as described, adapted to draw together and force apart said axle and yoke, and thereby adjust the position I 5 of the frame. 1

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I aflix mysignature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN S. SMITH Witnesses:

' J. M. HOLLAND, F. G. BENNETT. 

